Royal Sunrise
by Stormy-Girl
Summary: Shunned by her people, the unicorn sets out on a dangerous quest to find the Royal Sunrise, only then will she return to immortality. Yet as she comes closer and closer to her goal, the unicorn realizes immortality is not her true wish...
1. The Return

It was twilight when the unicorn returned to her forest. The stars twinkled in the darkening night sky and the moon hung full and low in the horizon. She had been old when she had left on her journey to find her lost brothers and sisters, yet now she was not only old but weary and exhausted. Although she had been returned to her normal form, the unicorn still felt a sense of dying and the sharp pain of mortality. And with this lingering mortality was the sickening feeling of love and the sinking sensation of regret.

The animals in the forest had not forgotten the unicorn for upon her entrance, the deer bowed low, the wolves howled, and the owls hooted their welcomes. Although she could not yet see them, the unicorn knew that others of her kind had returned to the forest for it seemed alive with ethereal yet familiar magic.

Among the returned unicorns was a rebellious young female who called herself the Whistler. Her appearance was like any unicorn in the forest, milky white with a flowing mane and single horn protruding from her forehead yet, like the unicorn, something about Whistler was different from the others. She stood alone by the water, gazing at her reflection in its crystal-clear depths, when the unicorn entered the vicinity. Whistler did not recognize the unicorn's presence as one of her own kind but as that of a human.

The Whistler would not let her eyes deceive her, although it was plain to see that a unicorn like herself stood before her and not a human nor any mortal creature for that matter. Stepping with heavy cloven hooves, the Whistler approached the unicorn, violet eyes filled with curiosity and mild surprise.

The unicorn felt unnerved by the Whistler's presence. Something about how she carried herself, and the appearance of her horn, which glowed with the intensity of fire and ice, seemed strange.

"Who are you?" demanded the Whistler, glaring uneasily at the elderly unicorn, "Why have you entered my domain?"

The unicorn let out a lighthearted laugh upon hearing this, discovering that the Whistler was a mere child. "My dear, you cannot claim this forest as your own. I've lived here long before any of these trees were even saplings. Do you not even recognize she who destroyed the Red Bull?"

The Whistler snorted and pawed at the dirt, "Sure." she retorted, "and I'm a flying dragon!"

The unicorn visibly flinched at these words and took a few steps back, aghast. Such behavior amongst the unicorns was unheard of, even from a young one such as the Whistler. She seemed so strange to the unicorn, even more strange than the phenomenal adventure she had just completed. "Young friend," sighed the unicorn patiently, "this forest is my home and the animals within it my friends. Would you, a unicorn, deny her own kind?"

The Whistler's eyes wandered as she listened to the unicorn as if she had lost interest. "I suppose such an old unicorn would be no threat to me."

There was no humility in the Whistler's voice, no kindness or grace. The unicorn longed to leave her, to forget that a unicorn could portray such arrogance, and return to the lush green thickets and sparkling pools of her forest.

"What is your name, unicorn? I go by the name Whistler."

The unicorn could barely contain her outcry of surprise. A name? No unicorn had ever before carried the heavy burden of a name. Even knowing the name of a human was something strange and unnatural to a unicorn. "I have no name" replied the unicorn, her frail body shuddering in the darkness.

"Well then," said the Whistler with a slight jerk of her tail, "I'll call you 'Unicorn' for now. Since you're here, why don't we take a walk. I'll tell you of my adventures and you may tell me the story of the Red Bull if you like."

Hesitantly the unicorn agreed with the Whistler and the two unicorns began their walk down the deer-trod path that led to a large moonlit glade. Although the unicorn was still wary of the Whistler, she had begun to accept her differences...though little did she know that the Whistler would soon become her only friend and her only chance for survival.


	2. Whistler's Story

"...and so that's how I came to be mortal," finished the unicorn as she and the Whistler walked through the forest. She had just finished telling the Whistler her story, of being the last of her kind and of destroying the Red Bull and saving her brothers and sisters only to realize she was no longer like any of them.  
  
The Whistler had kept her head down through the whole time, listening intently to the unicorn's story without interrupting at all. Now that the story was over, she looked up again. "Your story is so sad," she whispered solemnly. "Now it is my turn."  
  
The Whistler looked down again; apparently the story of her life pained her as well. 'Perhaps,' thought the unicorn, 'I am not the only one who feels regret, perhaps...'  
  
"I lived far away from here," began the Whistler, "Long before we were taken to the ocean. I lived in the Jade Forest with many other unicorns.  
  
"It was in a time of dread, the summer rains had abandoned us and the trees and plants grew dry and brittle. Our power was weak and we could not heal the plants so many animals died. That was when I did not have a name, when I was like you and every other unicorn in the world.  
  
"It was in this horrible drought that the unicorns of the Jade Forest first met man. They were hunting in our woods and in my great curiosity, I followed them through the forest. They caught no game at all, but I still followed them further into the forest until I did not recognize my surroundings.  
  
"The entire woods had changed. No longer was it the dusty gold of dying plants nor the lush green color it used to be, it was silver! I ceased following the hunters to gaze at this marvelous place; surely it was not part of the Jade Forest.  
  
"The hunters rode on, as if they didn't realize the sudden change in scenery. Looking around, I realized I was on a very tall mountain. The base of the mountain was golden, the Jade Forest. But as the land slanted upwards, the trees abruptly turned silver.  
  
"I was amazed at the sight, and raced through the woods looking for any inhabitants of this strange forest, there were none. Soon I came across a steep stone cliff where I saw the most magnificent thing ever. The Royal Sunrise."  
  
Here, the Whistler stopped telling her story and put her head down until her muzzle nearly touched the dirt path they were walking on. She was thinking, and her face held such a wounded expression that the unicorn dared not speak.  
  
It was only when the Whistler lifted her head back up did the unicorn decide to ask her question. "My dear Whistler," she said, "Please continue your story, what is the Royal Sunrise?"  
  
"The Royal Sunrise," continued the Whistler without hesitation, "Is the most beautiful thing ever. Words cannot describe the beauty of this sunrise nor can they portray how sad it feels to watch. The Royal Sunrise represents the loss of magic over the years.  
  
"Ever since man first came to live among the unicorns and other mystical animals of this world, they have stolen our magic and our powers. They have robbed us of our abilities until the unicorns seem no more than old white horses. But man does not know how to handle the magic they have taken from us, so it leaves them.  
  
"When the magic left man, it journeyed back to the unicorns, but the unicorns were too weak to accept all the power, so the magic journeyed to a silver mountain on the edge of time where it stayed in a mass of colors and hues. That is the Royal Sunrise."  
  
The unicorn knew what Whistler was talking about, she had heard of the unicorns' loss of power, but she, in all her years, never knew what became of the magic after it left man.  
  
"To see it made my heart tear in two, I felt small and helpless in front of the magic. It was like an aurora, an aurora of supreme magic, and it changed me forever."  
  
"What do you mean?" asked the unicorn. "What does the Royal Sunrise have to do with your new name, and your difference?"  
  
"The sunrise spoke to me," continued the Whistler, "Not in words, but I could hear it in my head, in symbols and sounds. I don't know if I have been blessed by the magic, or cursed, but from then on I was different from all unicorns.  
  
"I was no longer as graceful or as beautiful as the others. I could feel my body aging and dying. My horn, now a mere shadow of its former glory, lost all its magical power. It was as if the Royal Sunrise had drained immortality right out of my body."  
  
They stopped walking, and, looking over at the Whistler, the unicorn suddenly realized how sorrowful the young unicorn was. It was only then did she see that the Whistler was almost just like her, she was mortal.  
  
"If only I hadn't followed those hunters through the forest," said the Whistler sadly, "If only I had just turned back when I realized the forest I was in was unknown to me. Yes, unicorn, I am mortal, a disgrace to the name of unicorns. That is why I have a name, that is why I can no longer act or live like a unicorn and it is why I regret.  
  
"When I returned home, the others knew I was different from them. Hardly any would even speak to me as mortality frightened those who never die of age. One old unicorn did speak to me, she was very wise and ancient and I still remember the way she looked at me with such pity when I asked her if she knew of the Royal Sunrise.  
  
"After she told me about the sunrise, she also said this: 'My child, The Royal Sunrise does not curse, or bless, it changes. The sunrise knows your purpose in life, and it knew that you needed to change. My heart tells me your greatest adventure has only begun and the supreme magic will help you more, trust me young one, trust me.'  
  
"Two years after that, the Red Bull entered our forest, and chased us into the sea." concluded the Whistler.  
  
After her story, the two unicorns were silent for a while. The only things to be heard were the crickets hiding amongst the trees. 'The Whistler is just like me,' thought the unicorn sadly, 'but what did the old one mean by an adventure? How can something as terrible as becoming mortal be such a wonderful thing?' 


	3. Banished from Home

After the Whistler had finished her long heartbreaking story, the two unicorns walked together in complete silence. The night was dark and silent, but soon the unicorn could hear the familiar sound of the waterfall in the large glade at the center of her forest.  
  
The unicorn always found peace by the waterfall, even when there was a terrible storm or a controversy between animals, she would seek refuge in the wildflower-covered meadow.  
  
Yet as they reached the end of the path, the unicorn discovered the Whistler was not the only unicorn that had returned to the forest. A Glory of unicorns rested in the meadow, some sleeping, others talking in small groups. Yet when they sensed the presence of the others, the all stopped what they were doing and looked over at the two newcomers.  
  
Their gaze was harsh and cruel, like the Whistlers was when she first laid eyes on the unicorn. She knew they saw them as two mortals. A large silvery unicorn with a short white mane stepped up to the two unicorns. His horn was long and glistened in the starlight like a gem.  
  
"Whistler," he began, his voice was like a small stream, water racing over tiny rocks and boulders on its long journey to the ocean. "You know you are not welcome here. And now you come with another, a mortal."  
  
"She is only partly mortal, and since when were you leader of this herd?" snapped the Whistler angrily.  
  
The unicorn bent her head down in shame; the Whistler was so rude and arrogant, completely unlike a regular unicorn. "Forgive my friend's rudeness," she said calmly and smoothly, "but why do you, noble unicorn, not accept mortal unicorns?"  
  
"Dear sister," said the male unicorn, "We are wary and tired from our days in the sea, and mortals such as the Whistler bring strong magic of their own, magic stronger and more frightening than that of a dragon. She brings the sense of death."  
  
The unicorn remembered that when the magician had unwittingly turned her into a full mortal girl, how she had simply felt her body dying with time. Death was the only thing the unicorns were afraid of, and the Red Bull.  
  
"You also bring death," said the male, "We must ask you to leave, please, leave the forest."  
  
"You don't control the forest, this is her forest!" shouted the Whistler nudging her new friend fiercely.  
  
The unicorn looked around. All the others were advancing in on them; she knew they would have to leave. Whether simply walking away or being forced, they would leave the forest, the only place she called home.  
  
She turned around and began walking down the path the other way. "No, Unicorn!" shouted the Whistler, "We can't leave, they can't make us, stay here!"  
  
The unicorn turned to face the Whistler. She was shaking fiercely with rage and the other unicorns were still advancing on them. "If we stay, they'll be hunting us for the rest of our lives trying to get us out of the forest." She said calmly, "I want to go somewhere where I am welcome."  
  
As the unicorn continued walking down the pathway, she heard the Whistler racing up behind her, cloven hooves banging on the ground. Listening to the carelessness of her friend, the unicorn wondered: 'Was the Whistler always like this? Did mortality change her and make her forget the ways of the unicorns?'  
  
As they reached the edge of the forest, the Whistler looked around her at the small farmlands and rolling hills of the mortal world. "Where will we go now? Will we live on farms disguised as two white mares? We'd be welcome there!"  
  
The unicorn winced at the Whistler's sarcasm. Then, after a short while, she said softly, almost in a whisper, "I thought we'd go to the Royal Sunrise." 


End file.
